There is but one part of the body, pretty much, on which it is impossible to have plastic surgery: your feet. I know this because it's the one cosmetic operation that I would pay anything to undergo. Since I was fairly small I have had very large feet, which to mine and my mother's dismay continued ... Read review
There is but one part of the body, pretty much, on which it is impossible to have plastic surgery: your feet. I know this because it's the one cosmetic operation that I would pay anything to undergo. Since I was fairly small I have had very large feet, which to mine and my mother's dismay continued to grow enthusiastically as I did. Shoe shopping trips became, at a very early age, a nightmare: try finding school shoes in adult sizes (I was a size ... ...days, nice girlie shoes in my current size, a whopping nine. I have spent many, many shopping trips trying to force my feet into a size 8 I really really liked, as the fashion police in this country have decreed that for a woman to have size nine feet is simply Not Allowed. A few years ago, however I gave in. Enough of feeling like one of the ugly sisters every time I needed a new pair of shoed. Enough of pinching and rubbing, of hobbling along ín ... more
There is but one part of the body, pretty much, on which it is impossible to have plastic surgery: your feet. I know this because it's the one cosmetic operation that I would pay anything to undergo. Since I was fairly small I have had very large feet, which to mine and my mother's dismay continued to grow enthusiastically as I did. Shoe shopping trips became, at a very early age, a nightmare: try finding school shoes in adult sizes (I was a size 5 adult by the time I was 13), or, these days, nice girlie shoes in my current size, a whopping nine. I have spent many, many shopping trips trying to force my feet into a size 8 I really really liked, as the fashion police in this country have decreed that for a woman to have size nine feet is simply Not Allowed. A few years ago, however I gave in. Enough of feeling like one of the ugly sisters every time I needed a new pair of shoed. Enough of pinching and rubbing, of hobbling along ín a foul mood pretending I was perfectly all right: it was time to return to an old favourite.
Now I look back, I wonder exactly why it took me so long to rediscover the doc marten, a shoe and boot without which, when I was fifteen, you were simply not considered a proper teenager. But after a brief flirtation with mens shoes (which almost always still look stubbornly and unattractively like mens shoes on me), it seemed I had no other choice.
So, it was off to the big DM store in Covent Garden, tho you'll probably get a better deal if you do things the traditional way and head to Covent Garden Market. But I wanted to see what the full range was like these days and so I headed to the flagship store. Two things struck me. DMs are really expensive these days: the shoes start at £50 ish and they come now in more forms and colours than I could ever imagine, to the point that lots don't even look like doccers any more. There are ones like Kickers, ones like Timberlands, customised ones with drawings all over them, the classic steel-toe cap side by side with sandals... the list goes on and on.
Nevertheless, I was instinctively drawn to the classics: the eight-hole black DM boot with the distinctive yellow stitching, and the slightly more subduded but equally recognisable 6 hole shoe. Now, I am assuming here that you know what DMs look like - if you don't, the pic at the top of the page shows the classic boot and all you have to know about the shoes is that they're less obvious but just as tough.
Now, I did try on the boots, I must confess. But when I looked at my feet, I was sixteen again, and it was not a feeling I liked. I felt like I'd have to go home and dig out my Stone Roses and James t-shirts, my old black leggings, my goth skirt, dye my hair an unnatural shade of orange and scowl a lot to accessorise them properly and frankly, that wouldn't go down too well at work. So call me old and boring and conservative, but I went for the plain, matt-black shoes.
And started wearing them, at which point I remembered another vital thing about doccers, which is that they absolutely KILL. Now, in my experience all new shoes put up a bit of a fight when you first wear them and have to be walked into submission before they agree to fit properly and be comfortable. Doccers, however, are the spoiled teenagers of the shoe world: they will strop and argue and murder your feet to within an inch of your endurance. Just as you feel they should be getting more comfortable, you'll find them pinching somewhere new, and as you hobble down the street you'll wonder why you ever bought the damn things. It was at this point I remembered a ritual we used to have at school: everyone who bought a new pair of doccers had to bring them to school, where we'd clear the classroom and everyone would jump up and down on them and kick them around as part of the breaking in process. This was partly because there was little uncooler than brand new DMs, but also because it did help soften them.
In my case, my new pair hurt so much that after a month or so I gave up and they went to the back of my wardrobe for the summer. But the following winter I had my annual problem of no available winter shoes, so out they came again for another bout.And this time, they submitted fairly easily - and my perserverance was rewarded, because from that day on they became quite simply the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever owned, and now I absolutely live in them. Because they're so tough, they hardly even show wear and tear, I never polish them, they're cool enough to wear out but conservative enough for offices and maybe even interviews - in short, my perfect shoe. And i know from past experience that now they've decided to co-operate they'll last forever. I had a pair of boots once that lasted a whopping nine years - six years on their previous owner who gave them to me, and another three on my tootsies - both of us wearing them constantly. Impressive, huh? So while they may be expensive and painful initially, they will repay your investment of time and agony in spades, and for this I cannot recommend them highly enough.
Advantages: So comfortable it's untrue Disadvantages: Take a while to break in
I bought my first pair of docs when I was about 14 and managed to get them half price from the place I was working at that point. This was around the time where everybody had a pair or docs, either the shoes or more commonly the 8 hole boots. The first time I wore them I felt like I was literally walking on air, soles were so bouncy and springy it was really quite strange. I had a predicament though - docs just don't look right when they're shiny ... ...I put the docs through hell to try and get the lived in feel to the and they put me through hell trying to break them in. Be warned, a pair of docs can take a VERY long time to break in and until they reach that point they will put your feet through torture (think blisters galore).
Once you break them in though it's sheer bliss, even if you walk around all day your feet still feel comfy. I wore them to work at my old Saturday job and was on my feet ...
crazycrazy 23.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Dr Martins (Shop)
Advantages: Good sturdy pair, long lasting, support your feet correctly. Disadvantages: £60 at first but last a lot longer in the end
...across a pair of boots Dr Martins.
Now my favourite footwear is anything practical and comfortable. Trainers meet the comfort requirement but they're not good in the wet and have a tendency to wear out even more quickly than shoes do. Early last year I found a solid pair of Wrangler shoes that appeared to fit the bill, but after two months and an entire tube of glue they were ruined as the sole flopped away from the body of the shoe with every step. ... ...have no regrets. My shoes cost me approximately sixty pounds - more than I would usually pay but it was an excellent investment. Eleven months on the shoes are starting to protest but remain in a better condition than any I've bought before. Doc Martens have been making shoes and boots since the late 1940s and their primary concerns have always been comfort and sturdiness. With a lifetime of experience the shoes they sell today fit both bills perfectly. ...
projectlaughter 08.02.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Dr Martins (Shop)
Advantages: cheap, durable, comfort Disadvantages: not enough shops sell them
Dr Martins Shoes in my opinion are the best shoes to buy. The shoes come in all sizes from kids size small 8 to big 6. And adult sizes from 7 right up to 17. You can buy all sorts of size of shoe, starting from 3 holes right up to big boots with 20 holes.
They are made from good leather which makes the shoes last for a long time. I buy my Dr Martins shoes every 2 years for myself to use for work. I work in an office so i have my shoes on 5 days ... ...As I wear my Dr Martin shoes to work all year round they are very versatile. From walking in the heat they are very good at keeping your feet from sweating and with wearing them in the winter they are great for keeping your feet nice and dry and warm. ...
jonbonn1 09.10.2009
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Review of Dr Martins (Shop)
Advantages: Unbreakable boots Disadvantages: Tough to break in
Oh Doctor Martin your boots are so neat, They feel so sweet upon my feet. I walk along without a care, In your bouncy airware Bad poetry aside Doctor Martins are the finest thing you can put on your feet. My first pair I got when I was 12, and I've worn them on and off ever since. I wont go on about the stitching or the soles (but when I was 12 I did think it was cool I could walk through acid!!) but I will go on about how comfortable they are. They ... ...been broken they yours forever. I realised this when after 18 months of constant wear (I did change my socks) I had to resole them and I was lost whilst they were repaired. ***UPDATE***
Someone mentioned to me that the leather on the toe joint of the Docs tend to crack, it's true. I had an old pair that did that, some "Dubbin" or vaseline soon sorts it out, though this does tend to collect the dirt. This doesn't apply to the Nubuc pair I have.
...
DiazX 05.12.2000 (14.12.2000)
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Advantages: Long lasting Disadvantages: Takes a while to break in your first pair (try running over them with the car a few times)
I love my Doctor Marten's boots,
They always made my granny hoot.
My first were black, I then got blue -
My dad just didn't know what to do!
Resisting trouble, you may find
These boots will really ease your mind.
Acid or oil, naught can get through.
They protect your feet, that much is true.
Sixteen lace-holes and such thick soles,
Warn by the bourgeoise and the proles.
So safe to wear, my clumpy friends,
May your 'Air Wair' reign be without ...
Medusa 02.04.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Dr Martins (Shop)
